REVIEW #223 Andor (Season 1)

Andor follows Rebel Spy Cassian Andor in his formative years prior to the events of Rogue One. We see how the fighting spark ignited within him and how he became aligned with the rebel forces.

I had heard such high praises for Andor, with many calling it one of the best projects within the Star Wars Franchise. This did set a pretty high bar which I don’t think all 12 episodes lived up to but nonetheless, the show finished incredibly well and I could certainly see why everybody loved it so much. Despite being set in the ‘Galaxy Far Far Away’… it didn’t feel like the usual content from a Star Wars project and I mean that in a positive way. Its uniqueness is what makes it stand out, everything from the camera angles to the way in which the story unfolds, felt different and I certainly liked that. 

The first half of the show was a little slow paced but I think that was needed, just to establish what the audience could expect and it also made the more action packed moments more impactful. The second half had fantastic dialogue with the amazing speeches delivered by Andy Serkis and Fiona Shaw being two of the highlights of the show, they gave me goosebumps! They also meant so much more than just an audience pleaser, these two moments symbolised the birth of the rebellion, moments that we see echoed through the franchise in almost every other project. Yet they were from contrasting situations, Kino Loy (Serkis) had no options left, nothing to lose and was therefore forced to fight back. Whereas Maarva Andor was free, she could have lived out the rest of her days peacefully but found the urge to fight back and see out her final days as a Rebel! I loved the juxtaposition of that, it’s also emphasised by a third scenario, Mon Mothma on Coruscant, from a place of wealth and privilege yet is pulled by a desire to do good. Representing how the rebellion can be born in all places!

The cast was rather impressive, with a wide variety of talented actors that enhanced the show and turned a fantasy based sci-fi project into a hard hitting espionage drama! I truly think it will be projects like this, with castings like this that will pull in fans who would otherwise not like the franchise. The only thing I think would slightly confuse someone completely new to Star Wars is that the empire doesn’t seem that awful in Andor. It doesn’t provide a big moment of evil, that justifies such uproar. You could argue that the ending where the entire system is being heavily monitored and controlled is enough but I do think it does rely on the assumption that you have watched the rest of the franchise and know full well, how bad the Empire is. As a fan myself, that doesn’t bother me and should they really change their storylines just to suit the needs of a potential newbie? I don’t think so but it’s perhaps some food for thought… 

The story itself was a little choppy at times and it pulled you in many different directions but it’s fortunate that they decided on a 12 episode season because that certainly gave time to explore the different avenues that the plot heads down. Finally I want to highlight how impressive the cinematography was, there was an array of beautiful shots. They had stunning organic visuals but also amazed with a CGI illustrated light show that lit up the skies in typical Star Wars fashion. The franchise’s TV shows continue to impress me with just how well they are constructed, always creating wonderful visuals. In conclusion, I believe it was a good opening season and we are just scraping the surface of Andors story, so I believe it will only get better. I hope future seasons maintain the tone and perhaps even delves a little deeper into the darkness! 

Overall (8.5/10)

Thanks for reading.

Callan